


Waking up beside you

by MissRosieBlue



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Before 5x12, Cuddling & Snuggling, Engagement, First Kiss, Holding Hands, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, Sleeping Together, Takes place before they were arrested
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 12:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19791106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissRosieBlue/pseuds/MissRosieBlue
Summary: Right after Oswald lost his eye, Ed and him get close again.





	Waking up beside you

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on my Tumblr, the-girl-lost-in-fandoms  
> Hope you'll enjoy this :)

Ed woke up on the carpet.

It wasn't the weirdest place he had woken up since Gotham had become a no man's land - since he came back to life actually. And at least, this time, he remembered how he ended up there, on the floor. He had spent the evening with Oswald. They had sworn to be partners in crime and to make the city bow before them, claiming it theirs. Then they managed to find medical equipment to help Oswald sleep the whole night without too much pain, hoping that they would find a better doctor than Ed to take care of his eye the next day. The only thing that Ed couldn't quite place was why and when he had started to hold Oswald's hand.  
The Penguin was lying on the couch by the fireplace. Exhausted and injured, he hadn't had too much trouble falling asleep there, without even bothering to take off his suit, ruined by blood and cuts. He was still sleeping, his hair messily falling in his face. His bandage still looked pretty clean which was a good sign. And his arm was hanging off the couch, his fingers intertwined with Ed's.  
He looked quite peaceful, only wincing now and then - due to a bad dream possibly, but most likely from pain. Ed's thoughts went back to the past evening when he almost stabbed the man. He knew Oswald almost did the same thing, he had noticed him taking his knife from his boot, and felt the tip of the blade between his shoulders. But once they had embraced each other, none of them had been able to do the deed. Yes, they obviously were each other's greatest weakness, but they were never stronger than when they were together. Staying together meant success and power. It meant being strong and undefeated. They needed each other, and now they knew they could trust each other.  
Ed delicately removed his hand from the firm grip. And when Oswald woke up, later in the morning, Ed didn't mention it.

Ed woke up from his nightmare because someone was shaking him.

A hand was rubbing his shoulder and a voice was calling his name, again and again. He opened his eyes to see Oswald leaning over him. The man straightened a bit and raised his hands to show he didn't mean any harm. His eyes were filled with worry which made Ed wondered how bad his nightmare had seemed from the outside. He sat up, trying to steady his breathing and ran a hand though his hair before he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Ed ?" called Oswald. "You were screaming in your sleep. Are you okay ? Can I do anything for you ?"

Ed swallowed only to notice how dry his mouth was.

"I had a nightmare. I'm fine now" he lied. "Could you please get me water ?"

"Of course."

Oswald came back with a full glass that Ed emptied quickly before he put it down. None of them said anything. Ed was still lightly shaking from his bad dream. Oswald stood there awkwardly. He knew Ed was lying to him by saying he was feeling better but he didn't want to pressure him into talking about it.

"Well…"

"Can you stay with me ?" cut Ed, blurting out the words so fast he thought Oswald would not understand him.

"Of course" repeated Oswald.

He sat on the edge of the bed and Ed shifted to leave him more space. They laid next to each other, without saying anything, without touching each other, simply staring at the ceilling. Oswald's presence was comforting and Ed managed to fall back asleep.

It took Ed five more nights of the same nighmare to open up to Oswald.

"It was about you" he confessed after they both laid down like they now usually did.

"What ?"

"My nightmare. I dreamt… I dreamt that you didn't make it alive. You thew yourself on that grenade for me and died in my arms. I just stayed there, frozen, unable of doing anything, and you were bleeding out, begging me to help you, to not let you die."

Oswald turned on his side and raised a hand to cup Ed's face.

"I am fine, Ed. I told you, I owed you this one, for everything I put you through." Ed opened his mouth to say something but Oswald didn't let him. "Please, let me talk. We haven't really spoken about this. I've been a bad friend. I never apologized for killing Isabella, but I am sorry. I shouldn't have been so selfish. I'm so sorry."

Oswald looked so soft, so fragile, Ed couldn't help himself. He embraced him into a hug, adjusting his arms around his body and his head on his chest.

"I forgive you" he whispered.

Surprised at first, Oswald hugged him back, rubbing his back with his hand. They held each other the whole night. It's been a while since they both slept correctly but the comfort of sleeping together was enough.

The following night, Ed rushed to Oswald's bedroom as he heard him yelling.

Ed woke up in Oswald's bed.

Every night, one of them would wake up to hear the other crying and screaming in his sleep before rushing to his side. After a few days, Oswald started to ask Ed to stay in his room for the night. They never talked much. Sometimes they cuddled together, sometimes they barely held hands. Tonight Oswald was holding onto Ed's arm. He was crying, his tears sliding on Ed's pyjama's sleeve.

"Ed…" he cried. "Ed, please. Don't leave. Ed. Eddie, I love you, please !"

Ed sat up straight on the bed. Oswald whined as the arm he was holding slipped away. Ed looked down at him. Did he mean that ? Probably not. He was dreaming, it was his brain activity that caused him to… and yet… As he watched the small man whimpering in his sleep, his face twisted with pain, fear, sadness and tears, Ed realized that he was in love.

"Oswald." He was shaking his arm. "Oswald, wake up, please. You're fine, it's a nightmare."

Oswald opened his eyes. He was shaking and crowled a bit more into Ed's chest.

"Ed" he cried again.

"It's okay Oswald. Shhh, it's fine. You're alright."

Ed kept shushing him, whispering sweet things in his ear as he held him close. Eventually Oswald calmed down and silence embraced them.

"I'm afraid to lose you, Ed. I… I tried, I swear I did, Ed, but I can't… I still… I still lo-"

"It's okay Oswald. I love you too. I'm here and I'm not leaving you, never."

"You do ? Love me ?"

Oswald raised his head and his gaze met Ed's. It hit Ed that no one had probably told him this since his mother and his father died. Sweet words that had lulled Oswald's childhood, words he was desperate to hear from anyone, words he would have died to hear Ed say.  
Ed took Oswald's face in his hands, brushed the tears away with his thumbs. Oswald placed his own hands over his wrists, needy for any touch Ed was willing to give him. And they leaned on each other until their lips touched.  
There was no rush. The soft contact of lips against lips was enough, the light pressure they both applied was enough because for now, they simply needed something, anything, that would satisfy their need of each other. The kiss turned into a soft make out session of tongues exploring mouths, hands caressing skin, until Ed pulled away to breath properly.

"You should try to sleep now."

"Only if you hold me" Oswald whispered back with a smile.

"Of course."

Ed rolled on his back, pulling Oswald with him. He felt him adjusting his position until his head was in the crook of Ed's shoulder and his right arm over his torso. Ed's hands went to his back, applying pressure to feel as much of his body as possible against him.

"Say it again" Oswald asked.

"I love you. I love you, I love you."

Ed woke up in a mess of tangled sheets, arms and legs.

He was holding tightly onto Oswald's middle with both arms. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand before letting his head fall back on the pillows, forehead pressed against the bare skin of Oswald's back, resuming his position. They were both still naked from their previous evening activities but the bedsheets and their shared body warmth were enough to protect them from the cold of the morning.  
Oswald groaned as he felt Ed moving. He untucked his left arm from the sheets to interwin his fingers with Ed's, his fingers carressing his the top of his hand. Ed's eyes caught the flicker of their maching rings and smiled.

They were engaged. Everything has happened so quickly since the battle for Gotham, six months ago, and Ed couldn't wait anymore. Yes, they've only been 'dating' for five months, but after everything they've been through together, they couldn't wait, couldn't let anything tear them apart ever again. Being husbands came with a bunch of practical advantages, such as visiting each other in the hospital in case of major injury, not being legally able to witness against each other, and conjugal visits in case one of them ended up in Arkham.

"Ozzie ?" Ed called, squeezing lightly his hand.

Oswald groaned again and turned to face him, replacing his body so they would stay as close as possible to each other. Their eyes met. Ed was now used to the dismatched eyes, one blue and one green. Still, they reminded him of this day, when Oswald got hurt because of him, and he hadn't forgive himself yet despite everything Oswald had said.

"Good morning, my handsome fiancé" he smiled.

He was too adorable. Oswald has never been a morning person, yet there he was, smiling because he was waking up for the first time in the arms of the man he was officially going to marry. And it was enough, being together was enough.  
Ed leaned in for a kiss. It quickly turned into a second, then a third, then Oswald pushed Ed in his back and rolled over to lie on him, chest to chest. They made out for a while, until Oswald decided that they needed to get up. Ed let him take the bathroom first, mentally replaying the perfect night they had together.

He didn't know it yet, but this had been his last night with his fiancé for the next ten years.

**Author's Note:**

> Yaaaa, this is kinda shitty and I'm sorry for breaking your heart at the end :p  
> I might write a sequel on their reunion.  
> Let me know if you're interested !


End file.
